FT.com / Financials - Ex-UBS chief pushes for bank’s break-up

Financial Times FT.com

Ex-UBS chief pushes for bank’s break-up

By Peter Thal Larsen and Chris Hughes in London and Haig Simonian in Zurich

Published: April 3 2008 23:40 | Last updated: April 4 2008 09:30

UBS, the embattled Swiss bank that has been Europe’s main casualty of the credit crunch, is facing a fresh assault after a former chief executive launched an activist campaign to break it up and overhaul its board.

Luqman Arnold, who was forced out of UBS in 2001 and led a failed bid for Northern Rock, the mortgage lender, revealed he had built up a 0.7 per cent stake in the bank, valued at $450m (£226m), through Olivant, his investment company based in London.

Luqman Arnold, who was forced out of UBS in 2001, has built up a 0.7 per cent stake in the bank through Olivant, his investment company based in London. Mr Arnold is pressing for a shake-up of the bank's corporate governance